Canton Mobilizes To Help Family Facing A Mother's Cancer

CANTON — For the past 1 1/2 years, John and Nancy Richard's lives have been consumed by her battle with cancer, and now, her impending death.

But as the couple endured rounds of surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatments that left Nancy weak and needing help for basic tasks, their fight also became a cause embraced by their hometown of Canton. This summer, there was an outpouring of support for the couple that included hundreds of people, including many they did not know.

Fundraisers over the summer brought in thousands of dollars to help the Richards with medical expenses. People signed up online to make meals for the family: Nancy could not cook, and John's time was spent balancing his job as a teacher in New Britain with caring for his wife.

The couple have five children and people have stepped up to help their oldest daughter take care of the four other children who are 11 or younger.

Nancy Richard, speaking at the hospice where she is living now, said she and her husband are grateful for the community support.

"How do you thank people for raising your kids and caring for your family?" John Richard asked. "I'm amazed that people are loving our family this much."

His wife put it more simply. "It's like, 'Wow,'" she said.

Nancy Richard, 41, was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2012. After surgery and then extensive chemotherapy and radiation treatments, the couple throught she was cured. But in March they learned that the cancer had moved to her brain.

There were two more surgeries that caused partial memory loss, but appeared to have beaten the cancer. Then in August, the couple found that the cancer had moved to her lungs and that there was nothing more doctors could do.

April Fitts, a longtime friend, said she started recruiting help when Nancy Richard was first diagnosed with cancer, then stepped up her efforts after the couple learned the cancer had spread to her brain. She signed people up to prepare meals through the website lotsahelpinghands.com, a site that helps people recruit and schedule help for families dealing with disabling illnesses.

"With the brain cancer, they needed three meals a day prepared for them," Fitts said. "We had 100 people sign up through the website. At first it was friends and people we knew, but then word got out."

The Richards also needed financial help, not only with expenses associated with her illness but also with improvements needed at their home so she could live there. For that, a fundraiser was held in June at a local fitness center where people raised money by pedaling stationary bikes after getting sponsors to make donations.

Deirdre Lloyd, one of the organizers, said about 100 people participated in the event, which brought in $15,000. An event at a miniature golf course raised another $3,000, said Tracey Crawford, a family friend.

Lloyd said she had met Nancy Richard only once. One of the things that motivated Lloyd to get involved was her own 5-year-old daughter's fight with cancer. She said the plight that John and Nancy Richard are facing is compelling.

"It stikes home with any mother," Lloyd said. "There is a strong sense of, what can I do?"

Jennifer Almeida, another resident who helped organize fundraisers for the family, said she and the Richard's oldest daughter, Chelsea, distributed more than 700 bracelets around town with messages supporting Nancy. She said that effort raised $1,600 for the family.

"The bracelets became a symbol of support for Nancy," Almeida said. "They were a way of hugging her without being with her. As a mother, your greatest fear is leaving your family, and this is something that a mother would want to support."

Fitts has tried to offer her friend hope.

"My way has been to be hopeful and give encouragement, and until a few weeks ago, that was how I dealt with this, to keep fighting," she said. "But now it's a lot harder."